The Big Apple never looked this good in any other game - believe that. Check out these screen shots of New York City from the upcoming Xbox exclusive Forza MotorSport. The pictures even include avenues and district names for reference. However, there is a flaw that comes to mind in terms of accuracy – where is the traffic? This title will be released on May 3, 2005, aiming to compete with the Playstation exclusive Grand Turismo 4.

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The guys over at Gamespy are one wily bunch. They have managed to scoop us all with their ability to get some nice, solid details on Microsoft’s next home console, the Xbox 2/360. Here are just a few of the specs, some of which have already been speculated:

Three 3.0 Ghz PowerPC cores

A post X800 ATi GPU

256 MB RAM

Standard dual layer DVD drive (no HD-DVD or Blu-Ray)

External add-on hard drive (optional)

I am also hearing that the hard drive could possibly turn out to be very iPod-esque. That is to say that is can be connected and disconnected from the Xbox with ease, and used on the go to listen to music. Microsoft is asking developers to ensure that all games run at a minimum of 720p widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, with the ability to access Xbox Live.

I’m starting to appreciate gaming on a phone. It’s always so readily available. Sure the games oftentimes look like crap, but they’re quick, fun, and best of all cheap. Looks like handset graphics are really going to improve by leaps and bounds though, as LG’s new SV360 contains ATI’s Imageon 2300 media processor, giving it the power to render over 10,000 triangles per frame. With that kind of power, they decided to even make the phone interface in 3D. Coming later this year in all it’s 320x240 glory, we’ll see how the public takes to it, in light of all the Sony/Nintendo handheld action going on.

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Well now here’s an accident waiting to happen. I was actually a little worried about posting this because it might get people to look into purchasing it. Sure, the product comes with all kinds of warnings against using it on the road while driving, but why tempt folks? This $50 device from Arkon lets you use laptops weighing up to 10 lbs right from your steering wheel. I just fear that people may opt to use this instead of spending the crazy money you need for an in-dash GPS system. And you guys thought people driving with cell phones were a hazard.

Not surprisingly, many of you showed great glee in the fact that there was a gadget that would allow you to annoy those who enjoy their home entertainment. The Couch Potato Tormentor was announced a few days ago, and we have had a chance to play around with it for just about that amount of time. If you are thinking of picking one up to annoy your roommate or loved one, we have all the details on this little device. Check out our review of the Couch Potato Tormentor after the jump.

Get fired up with this week’s DVD releases, starting with Ladder 49. Staring Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta, Ladder 49 tells the story of the brave men and women we call fire fighters. If you prefer something a bit less sappy, the ninth season of Friends has also been released today. Be sure to check out one of these hits this weekend as you relax from a long week at work or school:

Microsoft has release XNA Studio for video game developers on Monday to ease in the creation of video games for its current console as well as for its next console. The product is meant to help developers exchange code amongst teams in order to speed up development and standardize systems for porting video games from PC to Xbox (2) and vice versa. This means that the tools will be able to assist developers to keep their budget and keep video games from being ridiculously overpriced. According to Microsoft executives, XNA will be help developers keep next generation video games on the same level as the current Xbox video games. We’ll just have to keep our eyes wide open during the months to come and see if these promises are fulfilled.

In other related 50 Cent video game gossip - feast your eyes on the rapper’s customized Nintendo DS. Apparently 50 Cent wasn’t feeling the silver bling of Nintendo’s portable console, and settling for a Nintendo DS skin certainly wouldn’t be P.I.M.P. The result is a custom made urban camouflaged Nintendo DS that has “G-Unit” emblazoned on the front cover. Now that’s gangsta!

Rapper 50 Cent will be the main character in an upcoming video game set to be released later on this year. Fiddy will be playing himself in 50 Cent: Bulletproof.

50 Cent: Bulletproof will star hip-hop artist 50 Cent, including his likeness and voice. The game will have a plot that focuses on New York’s drug underworld, putting players to the task of uncovering an international conspiracy.

Okay so maybe we don’t have many details on the game to make it sound better than it looks – however, the game’s visuals look great. GameGossip has more screenshots for your viewing pleasure.

Come on now, Samsung. Why do you taunt us so? Obviously this 82” TFT-LCD high definition television isn’t even on the market yet (you can expect to see it in a couple of years), but once it does hit retail, who is going to be able to afford one? Oh well, it sure is a nice way to hit CeBIT with style.